Prosecutor's office declines charges in death of John Lawrence

Ypsilanti Police announced Thursday the charges in the death of John Lawrence of Detroit, 46-year-old father of a former Peninsular Place resident, were denied by the Washtenaw County prosecutor’s office.

Lawrence died March 31, 2013, following a struggle involving a frying pan with the couple his 19-year-old daughter was living with at Peninsular Place apartments.

His preliminary autopsy indicated that Lawrence had died of blunt force trauma. But investigators now believe a preexisting health condition was exacerbated by the struggle, ultimately causing Lawrence’s untimely death.

Related Stories

“I think the detectives felt the same way as the prosecutor’s office … that although there may have been probable cause to arrest at the time of the incident, proving it beyond a reasonable doubt would have been difficult at best,” Ypsilanti Police Lt. Deric Gress told MLive.

On the night Lawrence died, his daughter called him after an argument between her and her roommates regarding the living situation.

She was living with a 20-year-old woman, a 20-year-old man and the couple’s child, according to MLive. The man was living in the apartment without a lease.

Lawrence drove from Detroit that night with a handgun. His daughter told the Ann Arbor News that he gave her the handgun and told her to put it in his car before the altercation with the 20-year-old roommates.

Ypsilanti Police were not available to provide The Eastern Echo with a comment.